


talk with your hands (i'm listening)

by xfilessage



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, American Sign Language, Bisexual Character, Deaf Character, Deaf Waverly Earp, F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lesbian Character, No Revenants, POV Nicole Haught, Title is from "Talk With Your Hands" by Bad Bad Hats, background WynDolls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2019-10-20 01:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17612846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfilessage/pseuds/xfilessage
Summary: Nicole Haught wants nothing more than to finish her senior year high school and leave behind the town where her parents died.And then she meets Waverly Earp, a junior who's deaf, and everything changes.





	1. time is the cell i'm living in

Nicole Haught hated the bus.

Maybe it was because the only time she ever rode the bus was on her way to or from Purgatory High. And the only thing Nicole hated more than the bus was high school. 

Nothing good ever happened there; the only people who liked high school were the people who were destined to peak at age seventeen. Maybe some people met lifelong friends there, or soulmates, or whatever.

Nicole didn’t believe in any of that.

Nothing was forever, except the eternal repugnance of city buses.

She tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear, humming along to the music pounding out of her headphones. Just four more stops, and she would be free to crawl back into bed until morning.

Just then, a flash of soft pink caught Nicole’s eye. Someone was standing up a few rows ahead of her, a shorter girl with wavy, light brown hair and a pink scarf draped across her shoulders. As she walked toward the door, a matching pink glove fell out of the pocket of her coat, landing on the muck that people’s boots had left on the floor.

“Hey!” Nicole called out. “You dropped your glove.”

The girl didn’t turn around, nor did she seem to have heard Nicole at all. A few other people looked up, but no one made any move to get the girl’s attention. Another reason Nicole hated the bus: no one gave a shit about anyone around them. She wasn’t sure why  _ she  _ did.

The bus rumbled to a stop, and the girl pressed the button to open the doors. A frustrated sigh tore its way out of Nicole. Shoving her phone into her jeans pocket, she got up, grabbed the glove, and managed to follow the girl through the doors before the bus drove away. “ _ Hey, _ ” Nicole said, tapping the girl on her shoulder. “You dropped this.”

She turned around, and Nicole found herself face-to-face with an absolutely gorgeous girl. She looked younger than Nicole, with soft, pink lips and curious eyes dusted with gold. The girl looked up at Nicole, down at the glove, and her mouth fell open. She touched a flat hand to her chin and pushed it outward, mouthing  _ thank you. _

Nicole recognized that gesture.

‘No problem,’ she signed back.

The most amazing smile spread across the girl’s face, so warm and bright that Nicole almost needed to shield her eyes. ‘You can sign?’ the girl asked in sign language. ‘Are you deaf?’

Nicole shook her head. ‘No, I’m hearing. But my parents are deaf.’ 

This was not entirely true. Nicole’s parents  _ had  _ been deaf-- when they were alive. Five years ago, she had been sleeping over at her friend Chrissy’s house, when Chrissy’s dad, the town’s sheriff, had left abruptly to deal with a break-in that had ended in two deaths. Those deaths had been Nicole’s parents. She didn’t have any other family in Canada, and had almost been thrown into the foster system, but Randy Nedley had decided to adopt her. Nicole wasn’t going to tell the girl any of that, though, because she was still beaming brighter than the sun.

‘My name is W-A-V-E-R-L-Y,’ the girl fingerspelled. ‘My sign name is this…’ She made a ‘W’, holding up her index, middle, and ring fingers, and touched it to her chest twice, over her heart.

‘My name is N-I-C-O-L-E,’ fingerspelled Nicole. “My sign name is this…’ She made an ‘N’, a fist with her index and middle fingers folded over her thumb, and ran it down her chin twice.

‘Like the sign for ‘red’. I love it,’ remarked Waverly. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’ She held out a hand. Nicole shook it, glancing absentmindedly at the bus stop sign. It would be at least fifteen minutes before the next one came, probably twenty because of the snow. Waverly followed her gaze, and frowned.

‘This isn’t your stop, is it?’ she asked. ‘Did you get off just to give me my glove back?’

Nicole nodded. ‘It’s okay, though,’ she signed back. ‘I’ll get the next one.’

Waverly pouted. ‘I feel bad,’ she signed. ‘How far away do you live?’

‘Three stops further.’

‘That’s not too far!’ signed Waverly. ‘I can drive you home, unless my sister has the car.’

‘I really don’t mind waiting for the next bus,’ Nicole told her.

‘Then I’ll wait with you,’ Waverly replied. She was smiling again, soft dimples creasing her cheeks. Nicole’s heart did a somersault.

‘I’d like that,’ she signed.

* * *

 

By the time Nicole’s bus came, she had learned a lot about Waverly.

Waverly’s last name was Earp. She was sixteen, a year younger than Nicole, and she also went to Purgatory High; maybe Nicole had seen her before, but generally anyone in a lower grade didn’t even register in her field of vision. She had two older sisters: Wynonna, who was in her first year at Purgatory University, and Willa, in her second year of university somewhere far away. Waverly and Wynonna lived at home with their aunt and uncle; she didn’t say anything about her parents, but then again, neither did Nicole.

She heard the bus before Waverly saw it. It was the first time Nicole had ever been  _ disappointed  _ to see her ride home. Waverly peered over Nicole’s shoulder and sighed.

‘I kind of don’t want you to go,’ she admitted.

‘I kind of don’t want to go either,’ Nicole signed back, getting off of the bench they were sitting on and brushing snow from her jeans. 

Waverly stood up too. ‘Can I give you my phone number?’ she asked. Nicole’s surprise must have shown on her face, because she added, ‘I’m sorry if that’s weird. I’ve just really enjoyed talking to you. You’re…’ She paused, wiggling her fingers, thinking. ‘…Special.’

Nicole’s heart skipped a beat. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Waverly. ‘Quick,’ she signed. The bus was stopped at a red light, but it was close.

Waverly handed the phone back to her just as the light turned green and the bus pulled up. Nicole approached the door, pulling out her bus pass. Before she got on, however, she glanced back. Waverly gave a shy wave, her cheeks pink from the cold.

Nicole waved back and almost tripped stepping up onto the bus. Waverly laughed. 

When Nicole sat down, she pulled out her phone and looked at her contacts. Waverly had put in her phone number under the name ‘Waverly ♥️’.

_ A heart emoji. _

Nicole grinned and held the phone to her chest.

Maybe the bus wasn’t so bad after all.


	2. i'll be what you wanted

“You look happy,” remarked Chrissy when Nicole got home.

She was curled up on one end of the couch with a book, already in her pyjamas. Chrissy had a spare last period this semester, and Nicole was still getting used to them not busing home together. “Huh?” she asked, kicking off her boots.

“There’s no way the bus made you look that happy,” said Chrissy. “What happened?”

“I got off the bus at the wrong stop and had to wait for the next one.”

“And that made you  _ happy? _ ”

Nicole shrugged off her coat and hung it up. “Actually, yes. I met someone. A girl.”

Chrissy’s eyes lit up. “A girl?” she repeated, closing her book. “Are you finally going to get some, Nic?”

“Don’t be a dick,” laughed Nicole.

“Okay, sorry. But tell me!”

“Her name is Waverly,” said Nicole. 

“Waverly?” Chrissy repeated. “As in Waverly Earp?”

“Yeah! You know her?”

“I know her older sister,” Chrissy explained. “Willa tutored me when I was in, like, fifth grade. She’s a bitch, but hey, I can do math now.”

Nicole snickered, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch. “You can’t do math, Chrissy. We’re in the same class, you know.”

“I can do math better than I could  _ before  _ Willa taught me,” said Chrissy. “But enough about her! We’re talking about  _ Waverly. _ Do you know if she likes girls too?”

Nicole’s face felt hot. “I don’t know. But… look at this.” She pulled up Waverly’s contact. Chrissy shrieked when she saw the heart.

“Nic!” she exclaimed. “She  _ likes  _ you.”

“Shut up,” said Nicole, but she couldn’t stop a goofy grin from spreading across her face.

“Have you texted her yet?” asked Chrissy. When Nicole shook her head, Chrissy added, “Well, do it, or I’m going to do it for you.”

She tossed the phone back. Nicole caught it; that heart was staring right at her. “What should I say?” she asked.

“I’d start with ‘hi’,” Chrissy said.

Nicole stared down at Waverly’s name for a few seconds longer before hitting the  _ message  _ button. 

_ Hey, this is Nicole :) got home safe! _

“No, that’s stupid,” she muttered, deleting everything.

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “She obviously likes you, Nic. I don’t think there’s much you could say that she won’t like.” After a brief pause, she added, “Maybe don’t tell her I called Willa a bitch.”

Nicole laughed softly and looked back at the screen. After deliberating for a moment, she started to type. 

_ Hey :) it’s Nicole _

Not too needy. Not too detached. Satisfied, Nicole hit send.

“Done,” she announced, slamming her phone down onto the coffee table.

Chrissy clapped. “I’m so excited for you! I hope she likes girls… I hope she likes girls…”

Just then, Nicole’s phone buzzed. The two girls both dove toward the coffee table to look at the screen.

WAVERLY:  _ Hi!  _ ♥️

A wide grin split Nicole’s face. Chrissy shrieked again and slapped Nicole’s arm. “Another heart emoji!” she exclaimed. “Text her back, text her back!”

“Get off me!” laughed Nicole, pushing her away. 

NICOLE:  _ Nice to know you didn’t give me a fake number. _

WAVERLY:  _ how do you know I didn’t? :) _

NICOLE:  _ Good point. _

NICOLE:  _ If you’re the real Waverly, what’s my sign name? _

WAVERLY:  _ an ‘n’ done like red _

WAVERLY:  _ :) _

NICOLE:  _ Lucky guess :) _

WAVERLY:  _ speaking of lucky! I never knew there was anyone else at Purgatory High who can sign _

WAVERLY:  _ I’m so glad I met you  _ ♥️

That made three heart emojis now. Nicole grinned, running her lower lip between her teeth. Before she could start formulating a reply, however, the front door opened. Randy Nedley appeared in his sheriff’s uniform, juggling two pizza boxes and his keys. “Girls!” he called out. “I got dinner on the way home!”

Chrissy set down her book and followed her father out to the kitchen. The smell of fresh pizza wafted into the living room. Nicole’s mouth began to water. She looked back down at her phone.

NICOLE:  _ Me too  _ ♥️

NICOLE:  _ I have to go for dinner now but I’ll text you tomorrow okay? _

WAVERLY:  _ okay! _

“It’s a special kind of girl that can keep Nicole Haught away from pizza,” Chrissy remarked from the other room.

“Shut up!” exclaimed Nicole, shoving her phone back into her pocket and heading to the kitchen. 

Nedley handed her a plate with two slices of pizza. “What’s this I hear about a girl?” he asked.

“I met someone today,” Nicole said, shooting a death glare at Chrissy. “Waverly Earp?”

“The deaf girl?” replied Nedley. “She’s a good kid. I know her aunt and uncle well.”

“Happen to know if she likes girls?” asked Chrissy.

Nicole punched her arm.


	3. the sweetest sound to echo back

Nicole couldn’t believe that she had never noticed Waverly before. She shone so brightly.

It was the next morning, before first period, and Nicole came across Waverly’s locker while she and Chrissy were on their way to biology. Waverly was wearing a mint green sweater over black tights. As Nicole watched, she ran her hands through her hair, smiling at her reflection in her locker mirror.

“ _ Nicole Rayleigh Haught. _ ”

Nicole turned to Chrissy. “What?”

“I’ve been trying to talk to you, lovebird,” said Chrissy. 

“Don’t call me that,” retorted Nicole. “I literally just met her.”

“Yeah, but you were texting her  _ all night. _ ”

She wasn’t wrong. Nicole and Waverly had texted on and off all throughout Wednesday evening; Nicole had told Waverly about her part-time job at the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department, while Waverly had described to Nicole the extra credit project she had been working on for her history class. Nicole had even woken up early on Thursday morning to send Waverly a good morning text before getting on the bus.

“Okay,” she admitted. “Maybe I have a little crush on Waverly. But I’m not _in love_ with her or anything.”

“Either way, you should go talk to her instead of just staring,” said Chrissy.

“Right.” Nicole swallowed hard. “Um… good idea. See you in bio?”

Chrissy nodded. “Go get her, Nic.” With that, she walked away, holding her  _ Biology 12  _ textbook to her chest.

Nicole went over and tapped Waverly on the shoulder. ‘Good morning!’ she signed once the younger girl had turned around.

Waverly’s face lit up. ‘Good morning! ‘It’s nice to see you!’ She paused to brush a stray lock of wavy hair behind her ear before continuing, ‘I still can’t believe I found someone else at Purgatory High who can sign. Other than my interpreter, of course.’

Nicole had never noticed anyone else signing at school. ‘Who’s your interpreter?’

‘His name’s John Henry, but his sign name looks like the one for ‘doctor’, so I call him Doc. He’s got a huge mustache.’ Waverly giggled when she signed ‘mustache’. ‘He’s odd, but I thought he was the only other signing person here, so I’m grateful for him.’

‘No one else here signs?’ asked Nicole. ‘Who do you talk to?’

Waverly’s smile faltered for a moment. ‘There are a couple of girls I eat lunch with sometimes… Stephanie Jones and her friends. But they don’t know how to sign, and it doesn’t seem like they want to learn, either. I mostly sit by myself and read, or text with Wynonna.’

An ache thrummed through Nicole’s chest.  _ She eats by herself?  _ That seemed wrong. Waverly was so sweet, so bright. If she had been hearing, she probably would have been one of the most popular girls at Purgatory High. Nicole raised her hands to reply, but just then, the bell rang. 

_ Damn. _

Waverly looked around and then at a pink watch on her wrist. ‘Time for class,’ she signed, pouting. ‘Talk to you later!’ With that, she turned around to start walking away, but Nicole reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder before she could go.

‘Do you want to eat lunch with me today?’ she asked.

Waverly looked surprised for a second, and then she beamed. ‘Yes!’ she signed. ‘I’d love that!’

‘Meet me in the basement by the drama room?’ suggested Nicole.

‘Can’t wait!’ Waverly replied. Her hazel eyes lingered on Nicole for a few moments before she turned around to head toward class. Nicole leaned up against Waverly’s locker, her heart doing rapid somersaults.

* * *

Biology class had never felt so long.

Or English class. Halfway through the second period of the day, Nicole was tapping her pencil with one hand and holding her phone under the desk with the other, staring at Waverly’s contact name.

That  _ heart. _

Could Chrissy be right? Could Waverly  _ like  _ Nicole?

As far as Nicole knew, the only gay kids at Purgatory High were her and a pair of boys in her grade, Jeremy and Robin, who had been dating for a year or two now. This was a bit of a sore subject for Chrissy, who Robin had dumped when he came out as gay. Even if they weren’t adopted sisters, Nicole probably would have known about it. Purgatory was a small town, meaning everyone knew everyone else’s secrets. If there was another gay kid around, Nicole would probably know about them.

Then again, it was hard to spread gossip about someone when you didn’t even know how to communicate with them.

She would have to test the waters. Flirt a little bit, see what Waverly did, and hope she didn’t fuck anything up along the way. 

“Nicole Haught,” called Nicole’s English teacher, Mr. Del Rey. “If you’re going to be on your phone in class, it would be wise not to draw any attention to yourself by tapping your pencil like that.”

Nicole dropped her pencil.

* * *

 

After class, Nicole stopped by her locker to drop off her biology textbook and grab her lunch bag before heading down to the basement. During the warmer months, she, Chrissy, and a couple of other kids usually ate lunch on the school’s front lawn. When it was cold outside-- like now, early February in Canada-- they ate in the basement. Nicole knew that no one ever sat outside of the drama room because it was usually loud in there, but she and Waverly wouldn’t be conversing with their voices anyway. It was the perfect place.

Waverly was already there when Nicole arrived, eating an apple. When she saw Nicole, she put down the fruit and waved.

Nicole sat down beside her and opened up her lunch bag. It wasn’t always easy to eat and sign at the same time, but if she had to choose between eating and talking to Waverly, she wouldn’t have even brought her lunch in the first place. 

‘How was class?’ asked Waverly.

‘Long,’ signed Nicole. ‘Biology is so boring… I have no idea why I decided to take it again. And I hate my English teacher. What classes did you just have?’

‘French and history,’ replied Waverly. ‘History is my favourite class, as you know. But French is really hard because, well, I know ASL and not LSQ. It’s a lot of fingerspelling for Doc, and the accents are hard to communicate using sign.’

Nicole had never considered that before. ‘The school shouldn’t make you take French.’

‘Oh, I wanted to take it,’ Waverly signed. ‘I love languages. I want to be able to read as many as I can.’

‘It would probably be easier at a Deaf school, though,’ signed Nicole. ‘What made you want to go here instead of the Alberta School for the Deaf?’

‘My family is here,’ explained Waverly. ‘I didn’t want everyone to uproot everything just because of me. Besides, Purgatory is home.’ She paused. ‘How do you know about that school?’

‘My parents met there,’ Nicole told her.

Her stomach clenched in the way that it always did when she mentioned her parents, but Waverly smiled, and everything eased up. ‘I forgot that’s why you know sign language,’ she replied. ‘So your parents are both deaf? I’d love to meet them.’

The clench returned. All Nicole could do was nod. ‘That would be nice,’ she signed after a couple of moments. Technically, it wasn’t a lie. It  _ would  _ be nice for Waverly to meet Nicole’s parents, because that would mean that they hadn’t been ripped out of her life.

Waverly cocked her head. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked.

Nicole nodded. ‘I’m fine. Just a bit tired.’ She mustered up a smile. ‘But being here with you is helping. I can’t believe we didn’t talk before Friday. You’ve been here at Purgatory High all this time, and I’ve never noticed you before.’

Waverly’s smile curled into an embarrassed twist. ‘I’ve noticed you,’ she admitted.

Nicole’s heart did a full gymnastics routine in her chest. ‘You have?’

‘You’re really pretty,’ signed Waverly. ‘It’s hard not to notice you. And… I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but someone told me you were a lesbian. I didn’t know whether it was just gossip, but I… I’m bisexual, and I’ve never met any other queer girls before. I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to talk to you ever since I heard that.’

Nicole had stopped paying attention after Waverly signed ‘bisexual’.  _ She likes girls, _ thought Nicole. ‘Well, whoever told you that was right,’ she replied. ‘I’m a lesbian. And… I think you’re really pretty, too.’

Pink splashed across Waverly’s soft cheeks. ‘Stop,’ she signed, but she was smiling. 

‘It’s true,’ Nicole told her.

They locked eyes for a minute, and then Waverly looked away as if Nicole’s gaze had burned her. ‘Hungry,’ she signed simply, picking her apple back up.

Nicole watched her for a moment longer before smirking and opening her own lunch bag.

Maybe she had a chance after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ASL = American Sign Language.  
> LSQ = Langue des signes québécoise, which is the variant of sign language used in most French parts of Canada.


	4. i never said that i was tough

On Friday, Nicole sat in English class, going back and forth between tapping her pencil and doodling spirals while Mr. Del Rey prattled on about how awful their Hamlet scene recitations had been.

Nicole had known hers was bad. She had ended up with two stoners and a girl who only showed up on the day they presented. Mr. Del Rey always let their students choose who they worked with for group projects, which was good for people who had friends in the class… not so much for brooding loners. Nicole had a theory that that was why he did it.

“I know I said that the group recitation project would be the last one we did on Hamlet,” said Mr. Del Rey, rousing Nicole from her thoughts. “But I don’t think William Shakespeare would appreciate those stumbling, stuttering messes you called scene recitations. So I’m going to assign one last project before I take back your copies of Hamlet. Flex your essay-writing muscles, everyone.”

Someone a couple of rows ahead of Nicole muttered, “Fuck.”

“Oh, and I forgot to mention,” added Mr. Del Rey. “It’s due on Monday, so you’d better start as soon as you can.”

Nicole groaned. It was just like Mr. Del Rey to assign long essays and only give a weekend to finish them. He claimed that it was to prepare them for university, but it was widely understood that he was just an asshole. Because Nicole worked at the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department on Saturdays, that only left Sunday for her to write her essay. And Sunday was Nicole’s day to relax.

That left lunchtime. On the bus the day before, she and Waverly had made plans to eat lunch together again. Although spending time with a cute girl was  _ definitely  _ more fun than sitting in the library and writing an essay, Mr. Del Rey was a hard marker and Nicole  _ did  _ care about her grades.

With a sigh, she pulled out her phone to text Waverly.

NICOLE:  _ Hey _

NICOLE:  _ I can’t eat lunch with you today… gotta write a stupid essay _

NICOLE:  _ See you on the bus though? _

WAVERLY:  _ okay!! see you :) _

Waverly had sent a smiley face emoji, but Nicole couldn’t help but feel bad for cancelling on her. If they didn’t eat lunch together, Waverly would probably be eating by herself. 

That thought alone almost made Nicole break. But she needed to do well on her essay. She currently had a B+ in English, but with dreams of going to the police academy, Nicole wanted to bump it up to an A-.

All of a sudden, the bell rang. Nicole pulled out her battered copy of  _ Hamlet  _ with another sigh.   
  


* * *

 

By the end of lunch, Nicole had a decent first draft of her essay and a growling stomach. She went back upstairs to her locker to grab her math textbook and an apple from her lunch bag. Before she could get there, however, a flash of pink caught Nicole’s eye.

Outside one of the chemistry labs, Waverly was standing beside a man with slicked-back dark hair and an impressive mustache. This, Nicole decided, was probably Waverly’s interpreter, John Henry-- or Doc, as she called him. Their conversation was sprinkled with signs Nicole didn’t recognize, probably science terms that she only knew in English. Waverly glanced over then, and her face lit up when she caught Nicole’s eye.

‘Excuse me for a minute,’ she told Doc, and went over to Nicole.

‘Hey,’ signed Nicole. ‘Again, I’m sorry I couldn’t eat lunch with you today.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ replied Waverly. ‘I got some homework done too. But Nicole… I wanted to ask you something. Um… are you busy this weekend?’

‘I work at the Sheriff’s Department on Saturdays,’ replied Nicole. ‘But I’m free Sunday. Why?’

It was then that she noticed that Waverly was blushing. She twisted a lock of light brown hair around one finger before signing, ‘I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out at my house.’

_ Screw the essay.   _ ‘I’d love that,’ signed Nicole.

Waverly’s eyes widened. ‘Really?’ She looked surprised, as if she hadn’t expected Nicole to say yes.

‘Of course!’ Nicole told her. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’

That familiar, brilliant smile spread across Waverly’s face. Nicole had seen it a dozen times by this point, but it still made her heart do somersaults the same way it had the very first time. ‘Good,’ signed Waverly. ‘How about one-thirty?’

‘That works for me,’ replied Nicole. ‘I should go now, though. The bell has already rung, and I still need to grab a couple of textbooks before class.’

Waverly nodded. ‘I’ll text you my address,’ she signed. ‘See you on Sunday?’

‘I can’t wait.’

With that, Waverly headed back over to the chemistry lab, where a number of other students had gathered around Doc, who was fumbling with a massive ring of keys to try and open the door. As Nicole rounded the corner toward her locker, her mind began to race.

_ She invited me to her house. _

_ I’m going to Waverly Earp’s house. _

What did Waverly’s room look like? Nicole chewed on her lower lips as she thumbed over the dial on her lock. What colour were her walls? What colour were her bedsheets?

_ No. Don’t think about her bed. No thinking about Waverly Earp’s bed. _

Nicole was so caught up in her own excitement that she almost didn’t hear the  _ crash  _ that resounded through the hallway.

It came from somewhere to her right, and was followed by someone laughing, too loudly, as if he was trying to hold the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

Nicole would recognize that laugh anywhere. 

Quickly, she grabbed her math and law textbooks and shut the door. As expected, when she looked over to her right, there he was, in his stupid football jacket with  _ CHAMP  _ printed across the back.

“Hey, asshole,” she called out.

Champ Hardy was in twelfth grade for the second time and the most notorious bully at Purgatory High. He was well-versed in the arts of homophobia, sexism, and general dicketry-- when Nicole had first come out as a lesbian in tenth grade, Champ had made it his mission to torment her… at least until she had given him a knee to the balls. Which had been worth every second of the two-day suspension she had gotten.

Now, he was standing in front of Jeremy, who had pressed himself to his locker in a futile attempt to disappear. His chemistry textbook was on the ground, along with a mess of papers. One of Champ’s cronies was putting dirty footprints all over them. Champ turned away from Jeremy and grinned obnoxiously when he saw Nicole. “Hey, lesbo. What’s up?”

“I thought I told you not to be an asshole,” Nicole growled.

“I don’t remember--”

Nicole thrust her knee up, not breaking eye contact with Champ. He swallowed hard, one hand moving protectively toward his crotch. “Fine,” he muttered. “C’mon, guys.” With that, he gave Jeremy one last shove and led his buddies away.

Nicole knelt down and gathered up some of Jeremy’s papers. The boy sank to the ground, leaning back against his locker. “Thanks, Nicole,” he mumbled.

“It’s nothing,” replied Nicole. “We’ve got to stick together, y’know?”

Jeremy nodded.

That was all that needed to be said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, everyone! I was on vacation for reading week, then I've had some big issues in my personal life. Hope you enjoy the chapter :)


	5. i see you in my dreams again

WAVERLY:  _ hard at work at the sheriff’s department? _

NICOLE:  _ Hard at work? More like hardly working :) _

WAVERLY:  _ well don’t let me distract you! _

Just as Nicole was about to type a response, another text popped up at the top of her screen.

SHERIFF NEDLEY:  _ I’m glad you and Waverly are talking, but those reports do have to be filed by tonight. _

Nicole looked up from her phone. Nedley was sitting at his desk across the room, the corners of his eyes wrinkled in a smile.

It was Saturday. Every Saturday, she tagged along with Nedley when he went to work at the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department, and helped with paperwork and other menial tasks. It had started off as a volunteer position, when she was in tenth grade, to finish the community hours required to graduate. Once those hours had been fulfilled, Nedley had offered her a job. It didn’t pay much, as the Sheriff’s Department was underfunded already, but Nicole didn’t spend her money very often anyways. Mostly, she was saving it for after graduation, for the police academy. That was the main reason she kept the job; it gave her a taste of what her life would be like when she was a police officer. When she could escape Purgatory and all of the ghosts that lived in its darkest corners.

“Sorry,” she called over.

“It’s all right,” replied Nedley. “I appreciate all the help you give me. Just tell me if you aren’t going to finish that paperwork, ‘cause someone needs to.”

“No, I’ll do it. Let me just tell Waverly I’ll talk to her later.”

Nedley chuckled. “I’m happy for you, kid. You deserve this.”

Nicole grinned at him before picking her phone back up. 

NICOLE:  _ I’m sorry, but I actually do have to finish some paperwork. Talk to you later? _

WAVERLY:  _ okay! :) _

NICOLE:  _ Can’t wait to see you tomorrow ♥️ _

With that, she put her phone on silent and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans.

* * *

 

Nicole arrived at Waverly’s house at precisely one-thirty on Sunday afternoon; after a long deliberation with Chrissy on whether it was best to arrive politely early or fashionably late, they decided right on time was probably best. Nicole pressed the doorbell, and from a small window just to her right, saw a light flash inside. It was the same kind of doorbell her parents had owned. For once, Nicole didn’t feel sad, just nostalgic.

Moments later, the door opened to reveal Waverly, fresh-faced and beaming. ‘Hi there!’ she signed. ‘You’re just on time!’

_ Good call, Chrissy,  _ thought Nicole, following Waverly inside.

The inside of the house was just as rustic as the outside. It looked like an old ranch house. Granted, Purgatory was not the most modern-looking town, but this house was something else. However, there were splashes of  _ Waverly  _ all around; pillows with frills and tassels on the couch, brightly-coloured candles on end tables. Her face was all over the fireplace mantel, too; there were photos of three girls, but Nicole’s eyes immediately sought out the youngest. There were school photos from various years, all with the same sunny smile, as well as school photos of two other girls, one with dark brown hair and another with light brown hair like Waverly’s, but without Waverly’s smile. These girls were Wynonna and Willa Earp, Nicole decided. There were photos of the sisters together, too; in most of them, the light brown-haired girl looked like she would rather be anywhere else, while Waverly hung off of the dark-haired girl.

“Hey,” said a woman’s voice.

Nicole turned around to see the dark-haired girl from the photos, a few years older. Waverly beamed when she saw her. ‘This is Nicole,’ she signed to the other girl. She used Nicole’s sign name instead of fingerspelling it, which meant that she had talked about Nicole enough for Wynonna to recognize the sign name. ‘Nicole, this is my sister Wynonna. In case you forgot, her sign name is this…” A ‘W’, ran over the mouth.

‘Was it meant to look like the sign for ‘drunk’?’ asked Nicole.

“Ah, that’s just a bonus,” said Wynonna, signing the words as she spoke them. “It was meant to have to do something with my winning smile.” She gave Nicole a sample. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Nicole. Waverly won’t shut up about you.”

Waverly smacked Wynonna on the arm. Nicole laughed. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she replied, signing as she spoke as well.

At first glance, Waverly and Wynonna looked nothing alike. Where Waverly was soft and light, Wynonna was jagged and dark. But they had the same nose, and the same lips, and the way Wynonna looked at Waverly was unmistakably the look of a protective older sister.

‘Are Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis here?’ asked Waverly.

Wynonna shook her head. “They went to run errands, and I’m about to head out to meet Dolls. You’ve got the place all to yourself.” She winked, and Waverly blushed.

So did Nicole.  _ Don’t think about Waverly’s Earp’s bed. _

Wynonna grabbed a leather jacket that was draped over a chair in the living room before heading out. Waverly and Nicole sat down on a couch by the fireplace.

‘Wynonna seems nice,’ remarked Nicole.

‘She’s the best,’ signed Waverly. ‘Wynonna, Willa, and I were raised by my aunt and uncle, but Wynonna always looks out for me, too.’ She smiled, staring off into the distance as if seeing something Nicole could only hope to see. ‘I never really knew my parents. My mom left soon after I was born… I don’t think she could handle having a daughter who was deaf. And my dad died when I was really little.’

It felt like the right time to do it, so Nicole reached over and took Waverly’s hand. In that moment, the words almost pushed their way out-- ‘I lost my parents too’-- but… no. Waverly was still smiling, and Nicole didn’t want it to stop.

Waverly squeezed Nicole’s hand once before pulling away so that she could sign. ‘It’s okay. I don’t remember either of them very well, so I don’t miss them.’ She paused, looking at Nicole. ‘Do you want to see my room now?’

For a second, Nicole was glad that Waverly was deaf, because she didn’t think she would be able to speak around her heart wedged in her throat. She nodded.

Waverly took her hand again and led her up the stairs.

Her room was small, or maybe it only seemed that way because there was so much crammed into it. The walls were pastel purple and covered with photographs and posters. Her bed was covered in pillows of various shades of pink, purple, and blue, topped with a pale yellow comforter with tiny butterflies and flowers on it. Across from the bed was a white dresser and an enormous bookshelf, overflowing with books. “Wow,” breathed Nicole, walking over to it. There were old history books with fraying spines and dusty covers, new books with flashy YA titles, and everything in between.

Waverly tapped Nicole on the shoulder so that she would turn around. ‘You love books, huh?’ Nicole started to sign, but then Waverly’s lips were on hers, and everything else melted away.

Waverly tasted sweet, like strawberries, and her skin felt like sunlight on a soft summer day. One of her hands had found its way to cup Nicole’s cheek, while the other rested lightly, tentatively, on the small of her back. Nicole lay her hands on Waverly’s waist, feeling warmth hum under the fabric of her shirt.

_ I’m kissing her. I’m kissing Waverly Earp. _

As if she could read Nicole’s thoughts, Waverly pulled back with a giggle. ‘So do you like my room?’ she asked.

‘I love your room,’ replied Nicole. ‘Right now, it’s my favourite place in the whole world.’

Waverly giggled, leaning forward and brushing a strand of red hair out of Nicole’s eyes. ‘What does your room look like?’

_ Small,  _ thought Nicole. Her room had once been Chrissy’s mother’s study, but Mrs. Nedley had died when Chrissy was very young, and Nedley had converted it into a room for Nicole when he adopted her. Her bed was pressed up against the wall so that she had just enough room to open the closet. There were a few concert posters and photographs of young Nicole with her parents stuck on the walls, but other than that, the room could have belonged to anyone. 

‘My room isn’t very interesting,’ signed Nicole.

‘I’m sure it is,’ Waverly chided. ‘I’d love to see it. Maybe next time we could hang out at your place?’

Nicole’s stomach clenched. Waverly liked the Nicole that had two living parents. The Nicole that was happy. But the real Nicole wasn’t happy, most of the time. What if that scared Waverly away? She didn’t want to lie, but sometimes, a lie was softer than the truth. 

‘Maybe,’ Nicole signed. ‘My room is pretty messy.’

‘I don’t mind.’

‘I do,’ replied Nicole. 

Luckily, Waverly dropped the subject. Instead, she tucked a lock of sunkissed hair behind one ear and signed, ‘Can I ask you a question?’

‘Yes.’

‘Was that your first kiss?’

Nicole shook her head. ‘No. In ninth grade, I kissed a boy behind the bleachers just to see if maybe I was mistaken about being gay. I wasn’t.’ She paused. ‘But this was my first kiss with a girl. The first kiss that really matters.’

Waverly’s eyes warm and syrupy. ‘It was my first kiss.’

‘Really?’ asked Nicole. ‘You have natural talent then.’

A laugh escaped Waverly’s soft lips. ‘Stop!’ she signed, but she was smiling.

‘Can I ask  _ you _ a question now?’ signed Nicole.

‘Yes.’

‘Do you want to kiss again?’

Waverly nodded, the very tip of her tongue darting out of her mouth to touch her bottom lip, her eyes never breaking from Nicole’s. Heat tugged at Nicole’s abdomen. 

It was easy to pretend nothing was wrong when Waverly’s lips were on hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again!  
> It's been a while since I updated... sorry. I still have a lot of unedited stuff written, so we'll see if I can fix it up. :)

**Author's Note:**

> American Sign Language is my minor in university, and I'm currently in my second term studying it. For those of you who also know some sign, you know that its sentence structure/grammar system is very different from English. However, for easier reading, I've typed what they would be saying in English when they're signing. Also! I'm hearing and can't really give sign names... sorry.
> 
> When characters are speaking, it looks like, "Hello". When they're signing, it looks like, 'Hello'.
> 
> The title of the fic and all of the chapter titles are lyrics from the song 'Talk With Your Hands' by Bad Bad Hats. Check it out!
> 
> This fic started small, but it's really turning into a passion project for me! I hope you enjoy :)


End file.
